Christmas Traditions

There are a few places we go each Christmas and this week we did two of them, the Bull Run Festival of Lights and the Washington DC Temple Festival of Lights. We love our Christmas lights! Every year we bundle up and drive through the myriad of light displays in Bull Run Park in the back of Jeremy's pickup truck. It is one of the very few times when I am actually grateful for that eye-sore of a truck. This year we went with the Candlands and picked a warmish night. It was still COLD, but luckily we had blankets and carols to keep us warm and hot chocolate waiting at the end. It is a fun activity that we always look forward to year after year.We also took the kids up to the temple on Friday, right before the big storm hit. Luckily there was no big crowd, but unluckily we sat in 2 hours of traffic to get there and the performance scheduled that night was cancelled due to weather, but we were still able to walk through and enjoy the new LED lights they used this year to decorate the grounds like a wonderland. We also saw creches from all over the world and the outdoor nativity. Despite the trek, we never regret going and hope to someday take our boys to the Salt Lake Temple during Christmas where their lights put our 500,000 to shame. We sure were grateful to get this visit in before Christmas and before the big blizzard prevented us from going at all.

4R's Christmas Program

Thursday night was Gavin's debut in the 4 R's Christmas program and he did a great job! Ironically, his part talked about how good he had been all year and he held up the naughty and nice list. His name was on the top of the nice side. Hmm, we'll have to see if Santa agrees... Highlights included the "Reindeer Pokey" and "Guess Who's Beard is Long and White?" Gavin was so proud of himself and we were likewise incredibly proud of him!

The story of Nie

This article was just published about the crash Stephanie Nielson was in and her brave journey of recovery. Read it, it is worth your time.

A day full of cheer

Today was the perfect Saturday. We had nowhere we needed to be during most of the day and set about doing Christmasey things. We made salt dough ornaments and decorated them so they are ready to adorn our tree, we baked and baked some more. I have the best sugar cookie recipe that I just love to pull out during the holidays so we made those and some White chocolate covered Ritz peanut butter crackers. Baking with the kids requires lots of patience and letting go of the perfection, but it is so worth it. We were especially grateful that daddy joined in on all of our fun today and hopefully we made a few memories.

Ho, ho, ho, we've got snow!

There is nothing better than waking up to snow in December to get you in the Christmas spirit! And better yet, on a Saturday when Daddy's home and can join in on the fun! Today was our first snow of the season and it hasn't let up all day. I think Jeremy and I are just as giddy as the kids and I am loving watching it fall from our big windows on the back of the house. We are expecting about 5 inches which is good enough for me! This morning we bundled up the kids and had a big snowball fight! Snow play round one is now over and the kids are enjoying their hot chocolate in preparations for round two- sledding!

Party Hearty

There is this place called Pump It Up that the kids have been begging to have a party at. It is full of all kinds of inflatables that you can jump and slide on and you get to invite 25 of your closest friends to share cake and play hard. So this year we combined their parties to merit the hefty price tag that comes along with such a party and gathered last night for fun and excitement. All we had to bring were the cakes and the goodie bags and the staff handled everything else. I have to say, it was very easy and I actually enjoyed every minute! They bounced until their little hearts were content and then we sang our Happy Bithdays, stuffed ourselves full of way too much cake and tore into the mountain of gifts that rivaled Christmas. When all was done my kids were wet with sweat, their bellies were a bit rounder and they had this strange foreign thing called a smile plastered on their faces until they were tucked in for the night. Hopefully, this is one for them to remember because I don't think we will ever be able to repeat this caliber of festivities. Happy 4th and 7th Gavin and Cameron, mom and dad love you lots! And if anybody out there wants some cake, we've got it coming out of our ears!

Pilgrims and Indians

We had a great day filled with family, food, and some little pilgrims and indians. I am so thankful for holidays like today! Happy Thanksgiving 2009!